11-Year-Old Killed, Her Cousin and Local Man Wounded in Early Morning Shooting

11-Year-Old Killed, Her Cousin and Local Man Wounded in Early Morning Shooting

A memorial to honor 11-year-old Arabian Gayles on her front porch. (Photo from WGNO’s Vanessa Bolano)

(from the New Orleans Police Department) – An 11-year-old girl was killed, and her 11-year-old cousin and a local man were wounded early this morning when multiple gunmen opened fire on a house in Pension Town.

Gunshots were heard at about 12:15am in the 1300-block of General Ogden Street. Inside a residence in that block, one 11-year-old girl was shot multiple times and was immediately taken to a nearby hospital. She died of her wounds at approximately 5:10 this morning.

The other little girl suffered gunshots to her right hand and elbow. The third victim, a 38-year-old local man, was found lying on the floor of the residence. He had been shot in the back. Both the child and the male victim were transported to the hospital for treatment.

There were several other children sleeping at the residence at the time of the shootings, as well as two other adults. None of them was harmed. The uninjured children range in age from 4-to-9-years-old.

Investigators have canvassed the neighborhood to gather information and Crime Lab technicians are analyzing more than a dozen bullet casings recovered from the scene. The casings are of different types, so detectives believe there were multiple gunmen involved.

The CrimeStoppers reward in this case has already been doubled to $5000 for any information in this case that could lead to arrests and eventual indictments. The number to call is (504)822-1111.

“This is a case of unconscionable, reckless violence, which has devastated yet another New Orleans family, who must now make funeral arrangements for one of its children. And this child’s cousin must now try to heal both physically and emotionally after suffering gunshot wounds at the young age of 11”, said Superintendent Ronal Serpas.

“I want the people of New Orleans to know that our Homicide division was on the scene of this crime minutes after the shots rang out, and our detectives are following up on every piece of information they have obtained. Again, we need the community to step up to assist us in making those responsible pay for their actions. They must be stopped.”